Skywalker
by SilverRibbon
Summary: AU. After some misadventures in his childhood a young Luke is taken in by Obi-Wan a bit sooner than intended. Meanwhile the Jedi order isn't as broken as the Empire would like to belive. Kenobi is called to join his 'brothers' in a movement to restore the
1. Prolouge: What could happen?

Disclaimer & Notes – I don't own anything pertaining to StarWars. This story is purely for fun. This is an AU story, but I tried to keep it true to the ideals behind the original universe and story while adding an interesting twist.

Skywalker:

Prologue

Luke sat on his bed, his legs dangling over the side, swinging absently while his attention focused on the slightly rumpled square of paper in his hand.

The nine-year-old sighed out loud as he mulled over the problem at hand…

'How to get his uncle to sign the permission slip.'

It was a problem because Uncle Owen never let Luke do any of the extra activities at school! Whenever his class took trips to the spaceport, or out to see the local wildlife Uncle Owen made him stay in the tiny school library and study while the rest of the kids had fun. It wasn't fair!

With an exasperated sigh Luke flopped on his back and stared up at the ceiling, the boy sighed again and fought back the lingering stinging gathering in the back of his eyes that forewarned tears.

Crying didn't get you anywhere. That's what Uncle Owen told him.

Aunt Beru stood in the doorway silently, drying her damp hands on the pale blue dishtowel while gazing at her little charge a small frown creasing her weathered face.

She knew what this was about, Luke had been hiding that permission slip under his pillow for days now and she had caught a glimpse when straitening the bed covers yesterday morning after Luke had left for school.

Aunt Beru folded the dishtowel with the crisp movements of someone who had just made up their mind about something. This time she had to intervene.

She under stood her husbands reasoning behind restricting Luke's activities, but there came a time when a little risk was more than worth the trouble.

"Luke .." she said walking into the room, hiding a smile when the little boy jumped and quickly sat up hiding the slip of paper behind his back.

It was rare to catch him off guard, usually her nephew knew when someone entered the room, and to Beru the fact he hadn't heard or felt her enter was just another sign of how upset the child was over this field trip.

"What? Yes Aunt Beru? I did my chores already, really!" Luke quickly chirped up, his impossibly blue eyes wide and feigning innocence.

Beru sat on the bed next to Luke and smiled knowingly.

"I trust you did Luke. I just wanted to talk to you for a minute."

Luke swallowed back a flash of guilt at lying to his Aunt.

He really hadn't done ALL his chores….

"Well, I did most of them anyway…….. I just have to dust the cooling unit before it gets dark." The blond boy admitted almost immediately unable to leave the lie hanging between them.

Beru smiled lovingly and set a hand on Luke's head of unruly blond locks "Well then, just make sure you get that done before your Uncle comes in from the left field." She cautioned thinking about how endearing her nephew's open personality and innocence was.

It was nearly impossible for the boy to lie to her. Luke had such a good heart. At times she wished more than anything that Owen would learn to look past Luke's parentage and see the boy for who he was in himself.

"Um…., what did you want to talk about?" Luke asked after a moment of silence, curious now that he knew that he wasn't in trouble for lying and not getting his last chore done yet.

"Well, I wanted to talk to you about your school's field trip to Fire canyon tomorrow." Aunt Beru said mater of fact making Luke nearly fall off the bed in shock.

Catching his balance Luke quickly rushed ahead to state his case "I know that Uncle says that Field trips are a waist of time, and school, and credits, but this one is really educational."

Luke sprung to his feet and gestured excitedly with his small hands "There are a lot of geological stuff to study, and fossils ! If only Uncle would listen I'm sure he'd……"

Aunt Beru held up one hand silencing the nine-year-old mid tirade. Her heart lurched slightly as Luke's exited little face crumpled.

Luke was sure of what was coming next. The lecture he had heard so many times about how his time was much better served in other, worthwhile tasks.

But his Aunt caught him unbalanced again "I was thinking that maybe I should sign the slip and we wont bother your Uncle with it this time. The condensers have been giving him a harder time than usual and I think he needs to focus on his work don't you?"

Luke felt his hopes rise so fast his chest actually hurt and he tossed his arms around Beru's neck with the exited babble of "Oh yes! He should concentrate! Really, really…..REALY! I can go!"

Luke bounced on his toes looking up at her with hopeful eyes.

Beru laughed and hugged her little charge noticing how he fairly vibrated with happiness, yes this was the right thing to do…Owen would understand once she talked to him about it.

"Yes Luke, Now you had better hurry and finish your chores, dinner is almost ready and you want to get a good night sleep before tomorrow's trip don't you?"

"Oh yes! Yes Ma'am…Wheeeeeeeee!" Luke ran out of the room more eager to do his chores than ever before in his young life.

Meanwhile Aunt Beru picked the slip up off the bed and slipped it into her apron pocket keeping the image of her smiling child firmly in her thoughts the farmwife reminded herself once again that this was the right thing despite what her husband might think. After all, what could happen?


	2. Chapter 1: Shadow of the Dragon

Skywalker: Chapter one,

"Fateful Fieldtrip…"

Luke sat on the transport, a smile on his face so large he felt like it might spit his head in two.

He was finally, really on a school trip! Classmates chattered in seats and peered down at the lunches they had been set off with. Luke's own hands lay across his day-pack, two meat rolls and a good amount of juice lay tucked inside along with a small shovel, spike and hammer for collecting fossils!

That morning his Aunt had slipped the permission slip into his pack along with his lunch and sent Luke off like it was any other day.

Luke had been sure all through breakfast that he was going to slip and say or do something to make his uncle suspicious. But everything had gone off without a hitch and now he was on the transport traveling to the Flame cliffs!

The buss arrived a few minutes later and the teachers ushered the chattering students off of the transport.

Luke tried to pay attention to the speech his teacher gave on 'safety' and how not to wander from the group, but his mind was already exploring the cave riddled red and white stone structures that made up the cliffs.

Spit into groups of six the children were led to small rock walls and told they could dig in the soft rock for fossils, and reminded to take notes on their little data pads.

Luke was pleased to note his group had been assigned an especially good hunk of rock and that his 'teammates' were all other kids he got along with well!

Now how to find a fossil? Luke pondered this question while studying the soft-pocketed stone with blue eyes as the rest of his group moved slightly away each picking there own spot to dig.

Luke wanted to get one of the GOOD' fossils and they were hard to find. The teacher had already warned them it was rare for a fossil to be found on one of these trips, and that they were supposed to pay attention to how cool the rock patterns were and have fun just looking.

After making several small holes and finding nothing Luke sat back on his heals and glared at the rock, with a sigh he looked down the cannon a ways to a rock formation that spiraled upwards.

Something about that spot seemed to draw him. Luke was sure he could find a fossil there, he was just sure of it!

But that rock formation was far from the 'safe area' the teachers had set down, and he could hear the teachers calling the students to come have lunch.

Luke's team members passed him, eager to eat and Luke was quickly left behind. It was then he got an idea. He could quickly slip over to the rocks and look for a fossil while everyone was eating lunch, then get back before anyone noticed!

With the brashness of youth Luke didn't give his plan a second thought and sprinted towards the formation. With in moments he crouched behind the stone, hidden from view of the class and students.

Eagerly he chipped away at the soft rock, and was rewarded with the faint outline of a black fossil!

"Alright!" Luke whooped and then clapped a hand over his mouth not wanting to be heard. A few other students were hammering away close to the lunch area and his own hammer strikes blended in as he hammered harder at the rock till his arms hurt from the vibrations.

The fossil was almost out Luke paused to catch his breath and was startled when the sound of his hammering continued without him doing anything and the other's supposedly 'eating'.

"Hu?" he blinked bight blue eyes full of confusion peering around his rock hiding place, a puzzled expression that quickly turned to horror as he realized that the sounds were not hammering, but the banging of something heavy against metal and the sounds of screaming.

A Kyrat Dragon pair was attacking the transport, trying to nock it over while those inside screamed in terror and the engine struggled to sputter into life.

Several bodies lay twisted on the sand, crimson stains spreading from the still forms. His teacher lay near the rock Luke's team had been looking at, her body minus a limb sprawled across his backpack.

"No…" Luke whispered soundlessly, small fingers clenching the stone he hid behind so hard the nails broke sending darts of pain up his arms.

"No, no no" he whispered helplessly as the engine spluttered to life and the damaged transport left him behind speeding off into the desert with it's remaining cargo. Leaving him alone with the dead, and the dragons.

They left me..they left me…theyleftmetheyleftme! The thought screamed through Luke's head as he huddled behind his rock shelter hands clasped over his ears to fend off the defining hunting cry of the Kyrats.

'Move'

It was more a feeling and less an actual sound that somehow echoed in his head, somehow it penetrated his panic and Luke paused for a moment unsure what to do, his terror battling with the internal command.

'Move now!'

The impression came again, stronger this time and backed by the roar of a dragon.

They had smelled live prey still in the area.

The defining roar spurred Luke into action and he found himself running for a opening in the cannon wall he hadn't even known was there

. The ground thudded behind him, shaking with the great thundering steps of the predators coming up behind. Luke imagined he could feel hot breath on his back and the stink of carrion and it spurred his already burning legs to run even harder.

And then he was tumbling into darkness, down an ancient stone lava shoot that was barely wide enough for his body to pass though. To Luke it felt like the terrifying drop lasted impossibly long.

Luke hit the floor with a jarring impact, all the air was forced roughly out of his lungs and Luke lay gasping for air chest burning. Darkness enveloped the boy as the predators blocked any light from above roaring in frustration into the small rock tunnel.

After a few long minutes the shadow of the Dragon moved from the small opening of light high above as the hunters left to return to their bloody kills.

Luke curled up on the stone floor and cried for a long time, hands pressed over his ears, eyes shut tight in denial of what the last few minutes had brought.

Then he stopped and choked back sobs. Luke knew couldn't afford to cry, he would loose water that way and every drop was precious out here.

They had had taught him that in survival class, although Luke was sure THIS was a situation he wasn't expected to ever find himself in.

Walking over to the opening near the top of the small cave he found himself in Luke examined the opening high above, he had to make it out of here.

They would come back and kill the dragons soon, and then they would be looking for him. He jumped once, twice, three times and then sat down with a sigh bruised ribs throbbing painfully.

The ledge was just to high for him to reach, and Luke didn't even know if the tunnel was too steep to climb up even if he DID manage to get the ledge.

Luke stood again and settled his hands on his hips stubbornly. He wasn't going to cry again, and he wasn't going to give up…there had to be another way out!

Sure enough after several minutes of searching in semi-darkness Luke discovered another old lava tunnel that led further into the cannon wall….and into darkness.

Luke sucked on his broken finger nails and tasting the salty tang of his own blood, hopping to relive some of the sting. The boy frowned at the even darker tunnel and pondered his options.

IF he went into that tube It was possible he would just get even more lost and never find his way out.

But on the other hand Luke knew he couldn't stay were he was, they would never think to look for him at the bottom of a Lava shoot and the metal in the rock would stop any scanner from picking him up.

Besides he had this feeling that taking the tunnel was the right thing to do despite the ominous appearance. So far his feelings had proven to be right….so after another moment of thinking Luke slipped into the dark tunnel and crawled on his hands and knees into the unknown….


End file.
